Piano competition kicks off with a drawing of the lots

Published: June 30, 2014

The 22 competitors of the Alaska International Piano-e-Competition drew their lots to determine the order of performance Saturday afternoon during a sunny picnic welcome on the deck of the Wood Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Prior to the drawing of the lots, two competitors, Nikolay Medvedev of Russia and Moye Chen of China, had withdrawn due to personal conflicts and a family emergency, and were not in attendance.
Generally subdued, the competitors expressed occasional grimaces after pulling their number. Though he was smiling, competitor Sejoon Park of Baltimore, Maryland, dropped to his knees and threw his hands in the air after pulling the number 1 from the hat, placing him first on the performance roster. He was given a strong round of applause, as was Yin Fei Wang of China, who drew number 13.
The order of performance for the first round will be:
Sunday, June 29
1. Sejoon Park, USA
2. Adrian Brendle, Germany
3. Josue Gonzalez, Costa Rica
4. Chen Guang, China
5. Martin Leung, USA
Monday, June 30
1. Shih-Wei Huang, Taiwan
2. Timur Mustakimov, Russia
3. Marianna Prjevalskaya, Spain
4. Yang Liu, China
5. Joo Hyeon Park, S. Korea
Tuesday, July 1
1. Oxana Schevchenko, Kazakhstan/Russia
2. Peter Friis Johannson, Denmark/Sweden
3. Yin Fei Wang, China
4. Maria Kharsel, Russia
5. Pavel Gintov, Ukraine
Wednesday, July 2
1. Ilya Maximov, Russia
2. Hyejin Kim, S. Korea
3. Tuomas Kyykhynen, Finland
4. Frank Dupree, Germany
5. Soo Yeon Ham, S. Korea
Thursday, July 3
1. Alexey Chernov, Russia
2. Lindsay Garritson, USA
Judges break to confer
Announcement of the semi-finalists expected between 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Performances for the first round take place in the Davis Concert Hall from 1-10 p.m. daily between June 29 and July 3. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $13.50 for seniors, children, and active-duty military. They can be purchased online at http://www.uaf.edu/piano, or in person at the box office. Commemorative programs are also available for $20 at the box office for music lovers and autograph hounds.